An Analysis of Three Methods of Teaching English on the Attitude and Achievement of Educationally Deprived Students.

Vickers, Nolan Lamar

This study investigated the effects of three different methods of teaching English on English achievement and attitude toward school of tenth-grade, educationally deprived students. Three groups of twenty students were matched according to English achievement scores, chronological ages, and attitude scores. Pretests and posttests of attitude and achievement were given. For six months each matched group was taught a different English program: Group A was taught a traditional program in which literature, language, and composition were separate units; in Group B these three units were taught together; and Group C was taught by a method interrelating these units and using different instructional media. No significant difference was found in posttest scores in achievement or attitude between the students in Groups A and B. The achievement and attitude scores of students in Group C were significantly higher than those of students in both Group A and Group B. (Author/DI)